What can go wrong after back surgery?

What can go wrong after back surgery?

While your surgeon will explain the possible risks of your specific back or neck treatment, this article describes potential general complications of spine surgery: anesthesia, bleeding, blood clots, dural tear, infection, lung problems, and persistent pain.

How long does it take to recover from lower lumbar surgery?

It will take about 4 to 6 weeks for you to reach your expected level of mobility and function (this will depend on the severity of your condition and symptoms before the operation). When you wake up after lumbar decompression surgery, your back may feel sore and you’ll probably be attached to 1 or more tubes.

What can go wrong with a laminectomy?

A few potential complications of open lumbar laminectomy are: Neural tissue damage. Injury to the spinal cord’s dura, cauda equina syndrome, nerve roots, and the formation of scar tissue may occur causing neural tissue damage in the lumbar spine.

How successful is lumbar disc surgery?

Surgery for a lumbar herniated disc has a high rate of success. One extensive medical study reported good or excellent results for 84% of those having a microdiscectomy and nearly 80% for those having an endoscopic microdiscectomy.

How can you tell if you have nerve damage after back surgery?

Symptoms may include chronic pain in the back, neck, or legs, which can be dull or sharp, aching, burning, or radiating. The pain may continue after surgery or reappear several days or weeks afterward. It can worsen as scar tissue builds in the spinal nerve roots, which extend from the spinal cord.

What are the chances of back surgery going wrong?

Surgery performed at the wrong level (incorrect surgery), which occurs in about 2.1%–2.7% of cases and is more common in minimally invasive surgeries.

Can a laminectomy cause permanent damage?

Any operation on the spine comes with the risk of damaging the nerves or spinal cord. Damage can cause numbness or even paralysis. However, the most common cause of persistent pain is nerve damage from the stenosis. Some bone spurs may permanently damage a nerve making it unresponsive to decompressive surgery.

How long does it take to recover from back disc surgery?

Total disc replacement (artificial disc surgery), which replaces spinal fusion as the standard for treatment of most common spinal disorders, may require a relatively short recovery period of about 3 weeks to 3 months – given that, like fusion, it is major surgery.

Can back surgery cause neurological problems?

Spinal surgery is a high-risk specialty with an ever-increasing patient volume. Results are very largely favorable, but neurologic damage, the most severe complication, may leave major sequelae, some of which can be life-threatening.

Are there any complications with lumbar spine surgery?

Surgical treatment of adult lumbar spinal disorders is associated with a substantial risk of intraoperative and perioperative complications. There is no clearly defined medical literature on complication in lumbar spine surgery.

Are there any complications with spinal fusion surgery?

Thankfully, most of the complications occur infrequently. The complications that can occur include those that would be associated with any type of surgery, such as infection, bleeding, and anesthetic complications. Another potential complication of spine fusion surgery in the low back includes any type of nerve damage.

What is the complication rate for lumbar stenosis?

R ESULTS. A complication rate of 4.5% (6 complications) with only one major complication was seen in the microdiscectomy group [ Table 2 ], a rate of 14.77% (13 complications) was registered in the lumbar stenosis group with a higher incidence of major complication in the fusion group [ Table 3 ].

What are the benefits of far lateral back surgery?

As a result, patients who undergo surgery using this far lateral approach to the lumbar spine commonly experience less blood loss and tissue trauma, improved mobilization, and faster recovery times. As a result of disruption of the psoas muscle and the nerves around it, some patients may experience thigh and/or groin pain or numbness.